Service-box.



H. C. HUBBELL.

SERVICE BOX.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 19, 1908.

936,536. Patented 0013.912, 1909.

Y sary a/aaew,

ANDREW. a, GRAHAM co momumocruvniks, wAsmMmmA n4 c iUNITEB STATES!PATENT FFIE.

HARVEY C. HUBBELL, OF LOVELAND, OHIO.

SERVICE-BOX.

To all whom tt may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARVEY C. HUBBELL,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Loveland, in the county ofClermont and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Service-Boxes, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to service boxes such as are usually installed atthe curb of the street to adord access to the cut-ofil or service cockin the service pipe extending from water or gas mains, and the like, tothe point of consumption.

In service boxes as now used it frequently happens that the box becomesdisplaced relatively to the service cock so that the T-head of this cockwill lie close to the side wall of the box, thus making it difficult andoften impossible to engage the same with the socket wrench, therebycausing a great deal of inconvenience and much loss of time.

One object of the present invention is to 2.5 provide a service boxwhich will be maintained at all times in a xed relation to the servicecock, thus enabling the socket wrench -to be readily engaged with theT-head of the service cock at all times.

A further object of the invention is to provide a service box which willso inclose the service cock as to keep the same free from dirt, gravel,etc.; which will support the service pipe, adjacent to the cock, therebyrelieving the joints of all strainA and protecting the same againstinjury; which will receive any pressure which may be exerted on top ofthe box, thus relieving the service pipe from any strain which mightresult 4@ therefrom; to provide an outlet for any matter, such as wateror dirt, which may enter the top of the box, thereby preventing thismatter from accumulating about the cock; and to so construct and arrangethe several parts of the box as to enable the same to be quickly andeasily set in position and connected to the pipe.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain novelfeatures of con struction and in certain combinations and arrangementsof parts hereinafter to be de scribed, and then more particularlypointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional view ofa service box embodying my invention, showing the serv- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed October 19, 1908.

Patenten oct. ie, isos. Serial No. 458,437.

ice cock in position therein; Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view ofthe lower portion of the box, taken on the line m of Fig. 1, the servicecock not being shown; F ig. 3 is a transverse, sectional view, taken onthe line g/ y of Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is a similar view, taken on the linee e of F ig. 1.

In these drawings I have illustrated the preferred form of my inventionand have shown the same as comprising an upper tubular portion, ofordinary construction, consisting of an inner pipe or tube 1 providedwith threads or spiral ribs 2, and an outer casing 3 having ascrew-thread or spiral groove 4 extending for substantially the' fulllength thereof and adapted to cooperate with the spiral ribs 2 to renderthe upper portion of the box extensible to accommodate the same to thedepth of the particular trench in which it is to be installed. The upperportion of the box is closed by a removable cap 5 which is preferablypivotally mounted thereon by means of a screw 6. A suitable housing orcasing is supported from the lower end of the tubular portion 1 and isprovided with a central chamber adapted to receive the service cock 7,which is connected to the service pipe 8 by means of suitable joints,the service cock being here shown as of ordinary construction and as-connected to the service pipe by means of the usual wipe-joints 9. Theservice cock is provided with the usual valve stem 10 having a T-shapedhead or wrench grasp 11 adapted to be engaged by a socket wrench 12inserted through the tubular portion of the box. The housing 13 isprovided with openings on the opposite sides of the central chambertherein to receive and support the adjacent portions of the service pipe8. In the present instance, the housing 13 is some what elongated, hasits greatest length extending parallel with the pipe S and is dividedalong a horizontal plane to form the upper portion 14 and the lowerportion 15, each of which portions is provided with flanges 16 adaptedto receive bolts 17, by means of which the two portions of the housingare connected. These flanges also assist in preventing the movement ofthe box after it has been set, as will hereinafter appear. Both theupper and lower portions 14 and 15 of the housing are provided in theiradjacent faces with longitudinal grooves 18 which are preferablysemicircular in cross section and are of a diameter,

lll.)

near the ends of the housing, substantially equal to the exteriordiameter of the service pipe, whereby, when the pipe is placedinposition therein and the two parts are bolted together, the pipe willfit snugly within the openings in the opposite ends of the housing. Thegrooves 18 are enlarged at their inner ends to accommodate the jointsconnecting the service pipe to the service cock. In the present instancethe walls of the grooves diverge inwardly, thus forming flaring innerends for the grooves and providing enlarged portions 19 of a shapeadapted to receive the wipe-joints 9. The upper portion 14 of thehousing 13 has an opening 2OV arranged substantially centrally thereofland in substantial alinement with the opening of the tubular upperportion 1, and this opening, combined with the enlarged inner portionsof the longitudinal grooves in the housing,-

forms the chamber within which the service cock 7 is supported.

The lower member 15 of the housing is provided with a'hollow base ordepending portion 21 provided at its lower end with an outwardlyextending flange 22 and having a central opening 23 arrangedsubstantially in alinement with the opening 20 in the upper member 14:of the housing.

In installing the service box the lower portion 15 of the housing ismounted in the bottom of the trench and the dirt is firmly tamped aboutthe same so as to support the groove 18 in a position to receive theservice pipe 8 and support the same in its normal position, the opening23 in the base being arranged in substantial alinement with the servicecock 7 and being maintained in an open and unobstructed condition. Theupper portion 11i of the housing, which is preferably formed integralwith the tubular portion 1, is then bolted firmly to this lower portion,thus securing the pipe S in position within the housing and affording afirm support which maintains the pipe in its normal position and whichwill receive any pressure which may be exerted upon the upper end of theservice box and prevent the strain from being exerted upon the servicepipe. The service cock and the joints 9, by which it is secured to theservice pipe, are entirely inclosed within the housing and dirt, graveland the like are effectually excluded from the chamber containing thesame. Further,

any dirt, water or other matter which may enter the top of the box willpass through the chamber containing the service cock and into theopening 23 beneath the same, thus preventing the accumulation of thismatter about the service cock in such a manner as to interfere with theengagement of the T-head thereof by the socket wrench. The service cockis so mounted relatively to the curb box that the T-head occupies acentral position in the tubular upper portion thereof and the box is soset in the ground that it is eifectually held against all movement, thusmaintaining the T-head at all times in its normal relation to thetubular upper portion of the box. The base 21 and flange 22 .form ananchor which tends to resist the movement of the box and to hold thesame against either vertical or lateral movement, thus assisting notonly in maintaining the service box in a fixed relation to the servicecock but in protecting the service pipe and the joints by means of whichit is connected to the service cock from injury of any kind.

Vhile I have shown and described a service box of a construction such asto adapt the same to the usual service cock and joint it will be obviousthat the construction of the box may be materially altered withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and I, therefore, wish it tobe understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details ofconstruction shown and described,

for obvious modications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

A service box comprising a housing having a base, a flange to form ananchor, and lateral extensions with pipe openings enlarged inwardly andan elongated tubular portion, said housing and tubular portion having anuninterrupted interior passage extending from end to end and open at thetop and bot-tom, the housing being made in two parts with means toconnect them, and the upper part and tubular portion integral.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. HARVEY C. HUBBELL.

Iitnesses ADAM BURK, IWI. A. CLINTON.

